Addiction and the Superstructure

Addiction is a type of invisible slavery. Addiction is bondage without the chains. But, in this day and age, in this culture and society, it is understandable, from a rational and scientific perspective, why addiction of any kind exists. Perhaps, from the rational perspective (which may seem irrational at onset), it is the way for the normal human creature, a creature of habit, a creature which lives in the repetitive routine that is put upon him by the society of capital, to transcend it, to escape it; to do and be something different. The superstructure and its agents seek to disempower the individual in society. The individual, in relation to society, is made to feel powerless, as they are under constant pressure and scrutiny. Addiction is transformational. It brings relief or the power of sheer abandon. Indeed you are changed, if for a moment; there are no rules, no oppression, no struggling, no suffering and all that exists is the moment as you are in the moment. In the midst of it, all worries and concerns easily evaporate. The individual is searching intently for the way out, a new path to tread and that path is not found in the bare, stoic, uncaring walls of our office. Or in our cubicles, our desks, our paperwork, our tools and in the hands and feet that ache with pain from one day’s labor just to survive are those that want to experience more; those of us who that do not want the cycle of repetition that this system has to offer. It is a skewed rejection of the present reality. But what of the conditions that create the environment to encourage such behavior? The answer lies in an examination of the superstructure.
As stated previously, when one analyzes the superstructure, society can be equated to a type of human black hole, where as you are born into it and no matter how hard you fight you just cannot break the barrier and escape. And just like the theoretical black hole, whatever force you exert to escape will just further entrap you. The black hole is the pursuit of the so called “American Dream.” This pursuit, for many, unfortunately ends in the reality of their job, the mortgage that is owed and cannot be paid, and the check at the end of the week that wards off homelessness for at least another two weeks. The misery that befalls the faces of people ready to start the work day is very telling of the dehumanization process that renders us into mere cogs in the wheel of economic circularity. And imagine resigning your life, for the next fifty plus years, if you are fortunate, to this economic imprisonment. Liberation is the natural tilt of the heart. When you are offered liberation from this culture of the superstructure, even if it’s not a real or factual liberation, you become desperate for the opportunity and reach out for dear life. Yes, addiction is physiological and psychological, but addiction is a skewed liberation, thus it is difficult to overcome because of what it represents – liberation. The pharmaceutical industry is booming, the illegal drug trade is booming, in addition to the legal drug trade (alcohol, nicotine). To the individual, using substances is in a sense a rejection and a transcendence of the material, consumerist society. But while the individual may believe this, the superstructure has its own agenda, which is to perpetuate the drugged up society. The superstructure allows the individual user to believe themselves free, especially in the throes of using, but they are not, it is a vicious delusion. Addiction is a cooperation and collaboration between the individual and the state, with the individual not conscious of the role their addiction plays in the superstructure. You see the superstructure not only encourages and fosters addiction it benefits from it as well, as a drugged up society is a compliant society and a prolonged life (thanks to modern medicine legal drugs) is a life to further exploit.